


An Unexpected Alliance

by Anonymous



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-19 02:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29619420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: “I’m surprised you're still alive,” Jessamine murmured, still regarding Billie casually.Billie attempted a laugh, the sound coming out as more of a wheeze because she couldn’t help herself. “You’re not really one to talk, Empress. You should be dead. I should know, I was there — as you probably already figured out.”
Relationships: Jessamine Kaldwin/Billie Lurk | Meagan Foster
Kudos: 7
Collections: Five Figure Fanwork Exchange 2020





	An Unexpected Alliance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reconditarmonia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reconditarmonia/gifts).



Billie knew she was dying; this did not surprise her. Daud was a trained and dangerous assassin with hundreds of kills to his name. He had aimed to kill when he thrust his sword into her body with help from Billie herself.

It seemed fitting that the wound hadn’t killed her instantly. Billie knew Daud had likely done this on purpose, but she deserved no less. She had been wrong and foolish to betray him. Suffering until finally she succumbed to her wounds was the proper ending for Billie Lurk.

She slowly blinked upon hearing the sudden sound of footsteps approaching. All Billie could think was that it was Daud or any of the other Whalers coming back to finish the job and make sure Billie paid the ultimate price for her betrayal. What Billie didn’t expect was to see the deceased Empress Jessamine Kaldwin walking towards her.

To say it was unnerving to see Jessamine crouching in front of her with an unreadable expression was an understatement. Billie shifted, but bit back a groan when that simple action caused an intense amount of pain. What did she expect after having a sword run through her body?

“I’m surprised you're still alive,” Jessamine murmured, regarding Billie casually.

Billie attempted a laugh, the sound coming out as more of a grugle, because she couldn’t help herself. “You’re not really one to talk, Empress.” Her voice was a death rattle. “You should be dead. I should know, I was there — as you probably already figured out.”

She assumed Jessamine knew the truth. From the way she was observing her it was clear she was aware of the part Billie had played in the assassination. Since Jessamine was talking to Billie right now, it obviously didn’t take.

When Billie mentioned her part in Jessamine’s  _ attempted _ murder, the emotion on her face shifted from impassive to anger. However, it was so fleeting that Billie wasn’t sure she had imagined it or not.

“You are right. I know exactly who you are, Billie Lurk.” Jessamine said softly. “I have been watching you and the rest of Dunwall for a while now.”

While Jessamine spoke, Billie noticed something on her wrist. She squinted to get a better look and almost had to laugh when she noticed the Outsider’s mark on Jessamine’s hand as plain as day. Of course the fucking black eyed bastard himself had given Jessamine his mark. He was probably the reason the Empress was in front of her right now.

Billie said nothing in response. She just closed her eyes and waited for death to come. Except it didn’t. Instead, something Billie never would’ve expected happened; Jessamine told her to stay still and then pulled the sword from her body with no warning. 

Immediately Billie’s body went rigid. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Jessamine remained crouched over her, sword now in hand. Billie closed her eyes, fully thinking that the Empress was going to take that weapon and thrust that sword back into her in a final blow that would certainly end her life this time around.

However, Billie heard the sword clattering onto the ground. Her eyes quickly fluttered back open. She looked bewilderedly at Jessamine, who didn’t meet her gaze. Instead, Jessamine held her hands an inch or two above Billie’s grievous wound and closed her eyes.

From where Billie lay, it appeared as if Jessamine were concentrating. Billie wasn’t sure what she was doing until she felt  _ something  _ seeping into her wound. It felt as if the void itself was entering her body. She looked down, vision blurring as the strange feeling intensified. The last thing Billie saw before she gave into unconsciousness was Jessamine hovering over her, eyes open and regarding her with that impassive expression from during their conversation.

It was almost a blessing to pass out right then.

_ She dreams she is in the void, the Outsider looking at her with those black eyes of his you can’t look away from. Billie opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. _

_ The Outsider tilts his head and smiles before speaking himself. “Billie Lurk, I know when you were eight you wanted to be captain of your own ship. Then from the moment you met Daud, all you wanted was to be a legendary assassin. You watched and learned from him and when you saw weakness you struck, just like he taught you during your years together. Only, he was a little better, much to your surprise. _

_ As you lay there waiting to die, you thought about the first time you meant Daud. He caught you breaking into the school and he spared your life. When he made you an assassin, it was the proudest moment of your life.  _

_ You held no regrets, but what about Daud, Billie? What regrets do you think he holds for taking you under his wing and giving you a chance, only to have to come back and blow up in his face? Do you think he wishes he had slayed you all those years ago or if he had a chance to do it over, he wouldn’t change a thing?” _

Billie woke from the nightmare (if one could call in that) with a growl. Not a cry, a gasp, or anything of that sort. She was just angry at the black-eye bastard for somehow dragging her in the void and  _ taunting her. _ Every taunting word he spoke was fresh in Billie’s mind. It was enough to her from the fact that she’d woken up in some strange room.

When Billie finally realized she seemed to still be alive, she slowly looked around and surveyed her surroundings. The room was rather innocuous. It was small and sparsely decorated, so there was nothing Billie could use to go off of. Billie didn’t know where she was or why she was there.

Her first thought was that it could mean nothing good. Billie shifted and winced when a surge of pain suddenly shot through her torso. It hurt, but nothing like before when she lay bleeding out on the back alley of Dunwall after Daud had run a sword through her. 

She lifted her shirt and glanced down at her wound, not knowing what to expect. Billie found that someone had tended the injury. However, the interesting part was that there were no actual stitches or signs someone sewed the wound. It was as if the skin stitched itself back together.

She suddenly recalled the moments before she passed out. Jessamine had been hovering over her, using whatever void powers she possessed to do something to her injury. Now Billie knew what she had done. 

It left her feeling conflicted. One part of Billie was grateful; she didn’t want to die. However, another was angry because if was going to die, she had been more than ready to die at Daud’s hands. Billie felt it was what she deserved for her betrayal. Apparently, however, Jessamine had a novel idea. She did not know what to make of it, which added another emotion to the mix; frustration.

Billie stiffened when she heard soft footsteps outside the single door in this small dwelling. She sat up in the bed just as the door opened and Jessamine walked inside. All Billie did was blink because there was no surprise in seeing the Empress again.

“You’re awake,” Jessamine stated simply. “How do you feel?”

“As if I were run through with a sword,” Billie replied dryly.

Jessamine smiled, the smile that you’d miss if you even blink, but it was still there. Billie supposed that meant  _ something _ . Problem was, she didn’t know what that was.

“Mm, well, in a few days you should recover.”

Billie frowned. “What did you do to me?”

The Empress lifted the hand that bore the Outsider’s mark and wiggled her fingers. “I channeled the void to heal you. It’s very simple.”

To be fair, it sounded straightforward. Billie accepted the answer, not caring if the Outsider’s power was running through her veins. During her time with Daud, he shared his void powers with her and the other Whalers. This was nothing she hadn’t experienced before.

What concerned Billie was  _ how _ Jessamine was even walking and breathing. She had seen Daud end her life and assumed the body had already received a proper burial by now. How was Jessamine standing before her right now? And why had she bothered to save Billie in the first place? This question bothered Billie more than how Jessamine was still alive.

“Will you ask your questions already? I know you have them. It’s practically written all over your face,” Jessamine said, interrupting Billie’s thought process.

Billie met her gaze and held it steady. “As you know, I was there the day they assassinated you, Empress. How is it we are speaking right now? How did the Outsider pull this one off?”

The sigh from Jessamine told Billie that it was a  _ long _ story, as Billie expected it would be. One didn’t deal with the Void itself and have a simple story to tell. She settled into a comfortable position on the bed, continuing to ignore the twinges of pain running through her body.

“After I  _ died, _ I woke up in the void, the Outsider just… watching me with that impassive expression on his face.” Jessamine put emphasis on the word died, but Billie didn’t look away. Billie barely flinched. “He gave me quite the speech and said the void has decided it is not my time yet. When he lay out my choices before me, it was clear accepting his mark was what I needed to do to save my daughter and Corvo.”

It was the first time Jessamine mentioned her daughter and Lord Protector. There was this bite in her tone when she spoke of them. Billie remained unsurprised given the events that occurred after what she should call Jessamine’s  _ attempted _ assassination.

Then something in Billie’s mind clicked. She remembered the reports of this individual in Dunwall, going around and exacting revenge, ultimately breaking Corvo out of prison and rescuing the young Emily Kaldwin from her captors. All they knew was that the person wore a strange mask. It was clear to Billie that the person who was behind this mask the entire time was Jessamine.

“Well, that answers most of my questions,” Billie muttered.

There were countless others on the tip of her tongue. The biggest one was why Jessamine lived in this tiny dwelling when she could be with her daughter and lover. To Dunwall, Empress Jessamine Kaldwin was dead. Why continue to perpetuate the lie and let her loved ones mourn her loss? It was something Billie didn’t understand.

Jessamine regarded her quietly. “Any others before I fetch us dinner?”

“Yes. Why save my life?”

She blinked slowly, tilting her head to the side as if trying to figure out how to answer Billie’s question.

“For the same reason I spared Daud and the others who played a part in my death,” Jessamine explained coolly. “More death solves nothing. I would rather spare you and let you live your life with the knowledge of what you have done weighing on you.”

It was straight to the point. Billie stifled a bitter laugh because Jessamine’s words rang true. If not for the attempt on Jessamine’s life, Billie may have never attempted to betray Daud, the man who took her in, taught Billie his trade, and ultimately gave her a chance when no one else would.

“I will go get that food now.”

Billie slumped down into the bed after Jessamine left and closed her eyes. It was definitely going to be a long few days while stuck here recovering. She needed to figure out what she was going to do  _ next _ . 

Staying in Dunwall was out of the question; that much was clear. Billie just had to figure out where she was going to go.

Over the next few days, Billie found her strength coming back. She remained cautious around the Empress, but not because she thought she’d take her revenge. Billie just did not know what to make of her presence and how she continued to help her recover from her injuries.

It was on the fifth day that Billie posed the question that was nagging at her since she woke up after Jessamine saved her. She supposed it was better to ask, then to let the curiosity eat away at her.

“I am going to pose a question to you,” Billie said slowly, eyes meeting Jessamine’s without hesitation. “Do try not to reopen my wounds in your attempt to end my life should you deem the question inappropriate, which it probably is.”

Jessamine’s gaze held steady. “I will keep that in mind.”

“Why are you hiding out here and not back with your lover and daughter?”

Billie didn’t look away. She watched as a frown settled onto Jessamine’s face, anger flashing in her eyes. Though, it was a good sign she hadn’t lunged towards Billie and settled her hands around Billie’s neck. This could always happen eventually, so she remained on guard.

“If either of them were to recognize me, then the void will see it this body it’s given me will cease to exist,” Jessamine explained, a slight hitch in her voice as she continued to speak. “I could not get an explanation from the Outsider, either. It seems it is the one clause I must stick to if I am to keep my second life.”

She accepted the explanation without questioning Jessamine further. The void was fickle in ways none of them could imagine. Even the Outsider himself could not control the entire void and its inner workings.

“Well, I suppose the void continues to screw over citizens of Dunwall and beyond,” Billie said without a hint of emotion.

Jessamine nodded in agreement, not saying another word about the subject. She was more than happy to drop it and never bring it up again.

On the seventh day, Billie knew it was time to go. The wound had long since healed and the longer she stayed in Dunwall, the more at risk her life was. Daud had disappeared, so he was not a threat, but Billie was still a wanted woman.

She woke up early that morning and left the dwelling. Outside was Jessamine, leaning casually against the door.

“Where will you go?” she asked.

Billie stopped in her tracks, not sure if she had been expecting to see Jessamine that morning or not. “Serkonos.”

“Any plans?” Jessamine prodded.

“Well, I always wanted to be the captain of a ship,” Billie admitted wistfully. “What will you do?”

In Billie’s attempt to forge this new identity, she would explore this dream. It was a hope, anyway. She didn’t know why she posed the question back to Jessamine. In retrospect, it was a cruel thing to do.

“Continue to watch over my family. What else is there?”

Billie nodded, unable to muster up a comment at first. Her words hung heavy in the air, bringing Billie’s guilt to the forefront of her mind.

“Goodbye then, Empress.”

She gave Billie a sad smile. “Goodbye, Billie Lurk. Good luck in your attempt to seek redemption. Perhaps you’ll even find it.”

Billie turned and left without another word. There was nothing left to say, anyway. Their strange acquaintance was now at an end, and it was better for the both of them if Billie simply forgot it and moved on.

~*~

“ _ Corvo it’s all coming apart,” she gasps, desperately clutching at his blood stained coat. “Find Emily and protect our daughter. You’re the only one who will know what to do. You will do that, won’t you, Corvo?” _

Jessamine remembers her last words, or rather what were supposed to be her last words, all too well. Those around Jessamine had blindsided her, and it was her who held the blame. If she had only been more careful and paid attention to who she let into her inner circle, perhaps Jessamine could have seen the assassination attempt coming and prevented it.

When Jessamine spoke her last words, she knew if anyone could protect Emily and find out the truth of what happened, it would be Corvo. She had faith he could do it. What Jessamine never expected or considered was waking up in the void.

The memory is clear in her mind as the last words she spoke to the man she loved.

_ She feels so cold. It’s like the cold is seeping into Jessamine’s very bones and pulling her apart. It takes all her strength not to recoil from the feeling. When she opens her eyes, she sees what looks like the void. It strikes Jessamine as odd that she would end up in the Void of all places.  _

_ Jessamine blinks, and as her eyes open again, she finds the Outsider standing in front of her. _

_ “Empress Jessamine Kaldwin. I never expected us to meet, but my old friend, Daud, put things into motion when he accepted that contract and ended your life, so here we are.” _

_ She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. The Outsider regards her impassively and continues on. _

_ “I never expected us to meet, but you can’t just fade away into the shadows. There will be consequences if your death comes to pass. Your story is far from ending, Empress, whether you accept my mark and even you can’t escape it,” he explains, now watching Jessamine with what she might dare call slight interest. “So what ending will you make for yourself? If you wish to save your precious daughter and royal protector, there is only one.” _

_ The tone didn’t sound mocking. Rather, it was a matter of fact. Still, it drew Jessamine’s ire, causing her to sneer at him. Despite the feeling of anger rushing through her, she accepts. _

_ What other choice does she have?  _

In retrospect, those last words to Corvo had been not only selfish and foolish because she learned immediately after her death, he was accused of her murder and thrown into prison. It meant, if something were to be done then she had to do it herself.

Jessamine had a new lease on life that she never expected to have, but with it she set things right. In a matter of weeks, those who conspired against her had fallen. She spared them because they would have to live knowing that their coup had failed. 

Jessamine knew it wasn’t very altruistic of her to let them live for that reason in particular. However, whatever qualms she once held were long gone. They faded the moment the void recreated her body..

The easiest part was taking revenge on the ones involved in the coup. Jessamine found the hardest part was seeing Emily again and not being able to tell her daughter who she was. She felt the same thing when breaking Corvo out of Coldridge prison. 

When they finally came face to face to face, Jessamine saw a man broken in from weeks of torture. With the mark, there was no chance of Corvo recognizing her, but Jessamine had hoped for a flicker of familiarity that might come across his face. Instead, all she got was the blank stare of a grieving man who, in his eyes, had lost his daughter and love of his life.

It had taken Jessamine too long to get him out of Coldridge — longer than she wanted to admit, but if Corvo would’ve insisted on her protecting Emily above all else. It would have never even been up for discussion. Of course, this knowledge didn’t make it easier for Jessamine to live with.

She felt like she had done what she could when they named Emily the next Empress of the Empire of the Isles, with her father at her side as the Royal Protector. Corvo would make sure nothing would happen to Emily again. It was a lot of pressure and expectations to put in a ten-year-old girl’s shoulders, but Jessamine knew how strong the Kaldwin line was. In the end, Emily would survive.

Once Emily took the throne, Jessamine knew her work was not over. She stayed in the shadows and intended to protect her daughter and Corvo until her very last breath. However, she couldn’t rest because Daud was still out there. He had to pay for what he had done to her entire family.

Jessamine found him more easily than one would expect. She confronted him without the back because she wanted him to remember her face. It took everything Jessamine had, but she eventually got the upper hand. 

All it would take is one more blow and the assassin Daud would be no more. She took a breath, looked him in the eyes and stepped away. The decision to spare him was simple enough for Jessamine. Let Daud live knowing that not only had he failed in his assassination attempt, but it was for her to put him down for good.

Jessamine said little to Daud before she walked away. She simply told him to leave Dunwall and never return or she would finish the job. Two days later, she traveled across Dunwall to see if he heeded her warning. 

Finding him proved to be as easy as last time. Jessamine reached out with the void, searching through their shared connection. It disgusted Jessamine to have this connection to Daud, and she didn’t understand it at all. However, she ignored these feelings and followed the trail until it went cold.

The only explanation was that Daud had finally left Dunwall. Jessamine felt a calmness wash over her. It was finally over. Everyone that hurt her was facing their own punishments. Even better, her family was safe.

Jessamine turned to leave when she heard a groan of pain. Upon closer inspection, Jessamine could discover the source. She knelt down beside the injured woman, scrutinizing her face until it clicked in Jessamine’s mind who this was.

She figured it out before Billie even spoke to her. When Billie realized who it was next to her, her body went rigid. It was clear the assassin expected Jessamine to put an end to her life at any second during the conversation. Admittedly, Jessamine entertained the idea of killing her, but ultimately helped.

She called the void itself to heal Billie’s wound. The woman passed out soon after from the pain, to which Jessamine found preferable. It was easy enough to lift her and take her to where she had been staying for the past few months.

The place was not home. In fact, it was anything but. Home was in Dunwall tower, surrounded by Corvo and Emily. Simply thinking of them left a bitter taste in Jessamine’s mouth, one she desperately tried to ignore. Now was not the time for this.

To Jessamine’s surprise, Billie was up when she went to check on her the next morning. It was then she discovered Billie Lurk proved to be interesting the more they talked. However, throughout their conversations, Jessamine remained impassive.

It was an entire week before Billie healed completely. She walked out early one morning, announcing her intention to head to Serkonos. Jessamine couldn’t say it surprised her she was going to leave. Staying in Dunwall put Billie’s life at risk since she was a wanted woman, after all. 

The one threat that didn’t linger over Billie’s head was Daud, who had gone into hiding after his confrontation with Jessamine. She knew he’d never risk showing his face again. Wherever the man had gone was where he would stay until the void took him for good and a prisoner of the Outsider. A fitting punishment for the assassin Daud who took everything from her when he thrust that sword inside her body.

As Billie moved to leave, Jessamine wanted to ask Billie something. She was curious what she would do once she arrived in Serkonos to start this new life of hers. 

“Any plans?”

Billie nodded, giving Jessamine what looked like a wistful smile. “Well, I always wanted to be the captain of a ship,” she admitted. “What will you do?”

She almost laughed when Billie turned the question around on her. It barely phased Jessamine, and she quickly answered it, the words causing her mouth to feel heavy and made of cotton.

“Continue to watch over my family. What else is there?”

The only response Jessamine received from Billie was another nod, along with a look of guilt flashing across her face. She left without another word, leaving Jessamine alone once again.

With Billie Lurk gone, Jessamine would return to her sole focus; Corvo and Emily. There might come a time where they would need her again in the future. Emily was still but a child. It was easy to stage another coup attack and take the Kingdom from her again. Best thing Jessamine could do was stay here in case something else happened.

Being so close but unable to hold them ever again was one of the cruelest things imaginable. The thought brought a bitter smile to Jessamine’s face and tears to her eyes. However, Jessamine refused to let them fall.

This was one satisfaction Jessamine wouldn’t give the void.

~*~

It took five years, but Billie finally became the captain of her own ship; The Dreadful Wale. It seemed a fitting name for the ship, who was admittedly a clunker. However, it was Billie’s ship. Hers and no one else’s.

She felt proud to own the ship and wondered if Daud would feel the same. Despite how it ended between them, the man was still the closest thing she had to a father. These feelings would never change because it was Billie who betrayed Daud and not the other way around.

It was the seventh year after leaving Dunwall when Billie’s new, carefully crafted life had a wrench thrown into it. The fault lay in the one and only former Empress Jessamine Kaldwin.

Billie never thought they would lay eyes on each again. When they parted that morning in Dunwall, she assumed it was the last time she’d see the Empress. Yet one morning Billie walked to the deck to see how things looked and found Jessamine leaning against the railing, gazing out into the sea.

“Hello again, Billie Lurk. I see you finally become a captain of your own ship,” Jessamine said before standing up straight. “Or should I call you Meagan Foster?”

Billie lit her pipe, trying to take because Jessamine was here. “No one has called me Billie in a long time, but I’m not opposed to it, so call me whatever you like.”

She laughed softly. “I will stick with Billie as it’s what I’ve called you in my head for these past for years. It would be counterproductive to change that  _ now _ .”

There were no objections from Billie. She nodded, continuing to smoke her pipe while a thousand thoughts ran through her mind. What was the reason for this visit? Did Jessamine reconsider and finally decide she should’ve finished her back when she had the chance?

“You don’t have to fear me,” Jessamine explained after a moment of silence. “I have no intentions of hurting you. If I wanted too, you would’ve been dead the moment I found you seven years ago.”

Billie chuckled despite the darkness of her comments. “Then may I ask just what in the void are you doing here? The last time we saw each other you were pretty determined to stay in Dunwall.”

Things grew quiet and Jessamine’s expression fell. Billie didn’t know why she was here, but clearly it wasn’t good. Jessamine looked like a shell of herself seven years ago, but now she appeared to be in an even worse state.

“Things change.”

“What things? You’re being very cryptic, Empress,” Billie pointed out as gently as she could muster.

Jessamine met her gaze, tilting her head to the side. “A person can only take so much of watching those they love and not being able to talk to them; touch or hold them. It’s what one might amount to torture.”

She lit her pipe again, feeling the need for a second smoke. It tempted Billie to go for a third, but decided against it.

“I’ll make up a bed down below for you, Empress. You’re free to stay for as long as you want.”

“Thank you, Billie. I imagine I won’t be here longer than a few weeks.”

What Jessamine said would be a few weeks, turned into months and then a year. Billie didn’t mind Jessamine’s company. In fact, she grew to enjoy it. The friendship growing between them was odd enough, but it was what it was. She remained unconcerned until one night, after sharing a bottle of some inexpensive liquor, the two shared a rather passionate kiss.

“What exactly should we make of that?” Billie asked, breath catching in her throat.

Jessamine gave a soft shrug of her shoulders. “A moment between friends? Two people finding comfort in what most would consider a strange union? Or perhaps a bit of both?”

“A bit of both, I’d say,” Billie admitted as they ended the discussion and resumed previous activities.

Billie didn’t know if she expected it to be a one-off thing or not. When it happened, a second, third, and fourth time, Billie knew it was more than that. Through all of this, Billie never asked what spurred Jessamine to leave Dunwall and come all the way to Serkonos to seek her out of all people.

She might ask one day, but what was between them was still so new and fragile. All it might take is one wrong move and Billie would destroy it before it had barely turned into anything. In time Billie might change her stance on it, but for now she’d push those questions out of her mind and focus on whatever the void this was.

From how Jessamine was acting, it seemed she intended to do the same things.


End file.
